Vehicle body having a collapsible head



Jan. 3, 1933. H. AUSTIN l 1,893,351

VEHICLE BODY HAVING A GOLLAPSIBLE HEAD Fledsepb. 18. 1950 Patented Jan. 3, 1933 y v ravira!)STATas PATENTOEFICE i HERBERT AUSTIN, or BnoMsGRovE,'-ENGLAND VEHICLE BODY Havraise ooLLArsIBLE 'naarv f applicati@ filed september 1e, 1930, serial No. 482,769, and in Great .Britain september as, i929. i

This invention relates to the type of vehicle body having what is known as a sunshine roof that is to say a body having fixed cant rails at either side passing over thedoors and windows and having a flexible cover acting as the roof and being adapted to be drawn back to the rear of the vehicle to open the top thereof when desired. In this type of vehicle body as heretofore constructed the fabric roof has been supported on transverse roof members which engage at theirV ends with the cant rails and are adapted to slide in relation thereto. These roof members or alternate roof members have been provided wlth endway projections to engage 1n av groove at the inner surface of the cant rail and all of such members when set up have passed beneath a retaining strip projecting inward from the cant rail.

According to one feature of the present invention, in lieu of projections from each or some of the roof members, a rib or longitudinal plate is arranged to extend inwards from the cant rail at each side of the vehicle and enter a groove in the end of each roof member or a groove carried thereby or in each alternate roof member, as the case Vmay be. Preferably the plate passes under a portion of all the roof members; and alternate members may have each a plate screwed to its under side and cranked down to form the groove to receive the plate of the cant rail. There is preferably provided, at each side of the vehicle, an upper inwardly extending longitudinal rib or plate passing over the ends of the roof members; but this rib or plate is discontinued at or near the rear of the vehicle top to allow the roof members whichvhave no end grooves to move upwards or outwards of the cant rails. This latter rib or plate may be constituted as an inward flange of a channel which is set in the cant rail and is open at the top to receive a bead at the edge of the fabric cover, the channel being utilized to drain water therefrom.

In applying the invention to a case where the cover is operated by the agency of a chain at either side guided in two channels open towards the inside and secured one above the other to the inner face of the respective cant rail, the rib or plate which enters the grooves in the roof members may be inserted between the channels, and in either case may pass immediately beneath the drainage chan--v nel which carries theupper ribor plate. 55

VAccording to yanother feature of the invention the longitudinal plate forming the said rib has a' narrow downwardly extending flange at its inner or free edge and thecranking down of'each of the plates ofthe roof 60 members is sufficient topermit each plate to passyacross'under the said downward llg'e, and the inneredge lof each plate is flanged upwards sufficiently tov ensure `that the end of av roof member will always keep in engage- 65 ment with the rib of the cant railf y According to another feature Of this in: vention the end of eachroof m'ember'has a `vertical hole formed therethrough in which `1s placed a wad of felt soaked in oil or'tll- 70 low, the felt preferably `extending somewhat beyond thefends of the holes so as to keep the guide lubricated. 1

The invention is described with reference to the drawing herewith, of which :--V f Y Figure l is a cross section through one of the cant rails ofV a vehicle bodyfto which my invention is applied, andl showing the end of one of the fixed transverse roof members, that is to say one of the members which al- 30 ways remain'in engagement, with the cant rai 1 i Figure 2 isa section of another part of the cant rail and showing the end of one o'f Athe roofimembers which are loose, that is to 35 say capable of moving awayfrom the cant rail when the roof fabricfolds or pleats up at the rear ofthe vehicle; and` Y Figure 3- is a cross section through a cant rail of a vehicle in which thel roof fabric moved through the agency of chains guided in channels secured Vto the inner fece ofthe can-t railff Y,

Referring first togFigure 1 A is the cant rail having a channel secured withinia. rabbet 95 at its upper inner corner,A VThe channel has an outward flange passing over the top of theca-nt 'rail and secured thereto by wood screws. The channel has also an linward flange'b which pas-ses over the ends .of the 10Q of the transverse members are moved back.

G is a metal strip clamped between the channel base and the cant rail and extending along the whole length of the cant rail and projecting under the ends of the transverse roo members and providing a support therefor. The transverse member G shown in Figure 1 isa fixed member and carries a plate H se. cured to its under surface and being cranked down to pass under the plate G thus to keep the said transverse member always in its relation to the cant rail even when the roof fabric is folded up. It will be seen that` the plate G has a downward flange g at its inner edge and that the plate H is turned up at h so as to come behind the flange g. This limits the degree of movement of the transverse member C. J isa piece of grease soaked felt or other fabric lying within a vertical hole formed in each transverse member near its end, said grease serving to lubricate the flange b and strip G.

In Figure 2'the construction is the same except that there is no strip H, so that the transverse member C is loose that is it can move away from the cant rail as soon as it has moved back suficiently to be clear of the flange 6'; y l Y Referring to Figure 3, which illustrates the application of the invention to a case where the front transverse member is movedl through the medium `of a chain, not shown, but guided in channels K, a strip of metal G (corresponding to the strip G in Figure 1) is clamped between'the 'channels and extends inward under the ends of the transverse members C2. Each alternate member C2 is provided with a plate H secured to its under surface and being cranked down so as to pass beneath the plate G thus to constitute the member C2 as a fixed member. The other transverse members are without the plate H and are loose members. The plate Gr may, if desired, be provided with a downward flange and the plate H with an upturned ledge similarly as in Figure 1.

Having fully described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is transverse roof members supporting said fabric and having their ends in slidable relationship to the cant rails, a rib in respect of each cant rail extending inwards therefrom, a

downward flange on said rib, a plate secured to the under surface of the respective ends of each said roof member and together with said ends forming a groove with which said rib (engages, said rib supporting the respective HERBERT AUSTIN.

.A roof of a vehicle body comprising xed cant rails one at each side passing over the doors and windows of the vehicle, a flexible roof cover adapted to be drawn back to the rear of the vehicle to open the top thereof, 

